Life Under Calico Skies

More Beijing

Surprise!  We put new pictures up.  Turns out that we do have internet access in our room, so no more speed posting while the front desk clerk times me.  And of course, we can upload pictures.  Only thing is I made the files too large on some of them, so I'm going to resize them tonight so they are easier to look at.

We went to the Temple of Heaven today.  It was amazing and beautiful.  I've never seen anything like it.  We spent quite some time there as it is huge, but we didn't see all of it. 

Then the Silk market.  It was stall after stall of stuff.  Faux designer bags, lots of shoes, jewelry, copy watches, gorgeous rugs, bolts of fabric, etc.  I'm the kind of shopper that likes to casually take my time, and the Silk Market is very hectic and loud.  Lots of people grabbing on to you, urging you to look at their goods, and asking you to make an offer.  I felt overwhelmed, but not Ray.  He had a blast negotiating with the merchants. 

Both of us left there feeling exhausted, but it was sooo much fun.  Go to the Silk Market! 

Lots of families have arrived now, and we'll all meet up tomorrow for our tour to the Great Wall.  I'm eager to hang out with our group.  And of course, eager for Sunday to hurry up and get here.

It doesn't feel real that we're going to meet Zoe YiHui, not at all.  I can't stop thinking that she has no idea about what is going to happen to her on Sunday, and for that I feel sad.  For us it is going to be the happiest day we've ever known, but for her it will be scary and painful. 

Okay, I'm super tired.  I think we're going to get something to eat and then just sit around for the rest of the night.  We'll check in again tomorrow and upload more pictures. 

-Michele

Quick Update

I have 2 minutes to post this....but we went sight seeing today...will tell more later. Just got back from the Silk Market.  Wow, talk about sensory overload.  People are yelling at you from everywhere for you to look at their wares.  Ray has turned out to be excellent at bargaining. 

Great Wall and other great sights tomorrow!!!

xx,

Michele

Good Morning!

It is Saturday morning here in Beijing and we're feeling better.  Although we did wake up at 2 am this morning w/ the power outage.  It caused the lights to flip on in the room when power was restored. 

We arrived yesterday and couldn't get over how easy it was to go through customs and to pick up our luggage.  It never goes that smoothly in Austin, so we didn't expect it to be so easy here.  When we walked out to the main entrance we were so happy to see our guide, Veronica waving the GWCA green flag.  I waved at her and she waved at us and we were on our way. 

Our hotel is beautiful, but warm (says Ray).  I don't mind it, but Ray is really hot and  I think he might be getting sick. 

Last night we walked to a grocery store, a ten minute walk.  There was a bit of scuffle in the super market.  I don't know what happened, but I think it was over something to do with weighing food.  A customer and an employee were screaming at eachother.  The two women were about to have a fist fight...it was very intense.  Then other employees got involved and they were all screaming at the lady.  I really wish I could speak Chinese so I could understand what they were saying!  It went on for quite awhile until they chased her off.  But when we got up to the check-out line, the woman was still there, screaming at the manager. 

Walking back to the hotel, we saw a bunch of people waltzing in front of a public library.  Very cool.  If we weren't so sleepy we might have joined in. 

So...I ended up falling asleep as soon as we got back to the room and Ray went down to the bar to enjoy a beer and to post here.  And that was it!!

Today, we are going to explore Beijing on our own.  We are going to go to the pearl market, etc.  We won't be able to post pictures until we arrive in Nanning...probably not until after we meet Zoe.  We don't have internet in our room, so I am typing this from the business center. 

Our friends, Mary and Eric, will arrive tonight, as do other families.  We know that there is another couple here, but I don't know them....

Anyway, that is it for now.  We're off to find the breakfast buffet!

Over and Out. 

-Michele